What Is Flony Voting Unjust Or Rightful Justice

Improved Essays
Felony voting: Unjust or rightful justice The limit put on all felons alike is an unjust systematic issue from the core and the question is why should their rights under the fifteenth amendment be taken away based on such a perplex situation. Many claim that taking voting rights from felons is simply the rightful punishment that should be put on ex-prisoners for the fact that they have priorly demonstrated not only dishonesty but also irresponsibility within their character when committing the said crime consequently due to these prior offences, and the lack of just “judgment” many believe ex-felons shouldn't be given the trust to vote on widespread controversial issues. What these people fail to understand is that voting not only installs a sense of responsibility within prior-felons lives it also …show more content…
Christopher Uggen suggests in his article “Why should felons vote” that “ if those who argue that people with felony convictions shouldn't be allowed to vote because they are untrustworthy in character . . . would we exclude admitted racists or, taking that argument even further, perhaps people who don't know enough about politics?” Uggen illustrates an accurate argument suggesting that if felons are solely not given the right to vote because of the possibility of insightful decisions should we not limit all those who may display a sense of idiocracy from voting polls? Uggen later goes on to demonstrate the point that though “Others argue that ex-felons would somehow vote for a pro-crime agenda. It's difficult to imagine how this would happen, and in fact it hasn't happened in states or even countries where felons can

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, Capote follows the stories of both a murdered family, the Clutters, and their murderers, Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith. Over the course of the novel, Capote reveals that Hickock and Smith met in prison and reconnected once they were both released (161). The pair’s target in invading the Clutter household was money in an alleged safe; murdering the Clutters would just ensure no witnesses could identify them as the killers (Capote 161). Eventually police apprehended the pair, and they were sentenced to death by hanging (Capote 215, 307). Unfortunately, re-incarceration (or recidivism) cases like Smith and Hickock’s are all too common.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Virginia: The democratic governor Terry McAuliffe said he restored voting rights for 13,000 felons who completed their sentences. The court said that McAuliffe didn't have the authority to restore the rights then more than 206,000.The Republican said they will be watching very closely to make sure the governor didn't violate the courts rule. Wisconsin&Ohio:…

    • 231 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Once arrested these people will never gain freedom from the system. (p. 89) The status as a felon limits the ability to provide for the family and this forces them to break the law again. These people are “barred from public housing by law, discriminated against by private landlords, ineligible for food stamps, forced to check the box indicating a felony conviction on employment applications for nearly every job, and denied licenses for a wide range of professions, people whose only crime is drug addiction or possession of a small amount of drugs for recreational use find themselves locked out of mainstream society and economy permanently.” (p. 94)…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Purtle's Ecosocial Theory

    • 1608 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Jonathan Purtle: “Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States: A Health Equity Perspective.” Purtle uses ecosocial theory to determine two key implications of felon disenfranchisement policy. Ecosocial theory is the inextricable connection between social and biological factors that impact health. The health of a people is the sum of not only their biological makeup, but also their socioeconomic status and the impact of various public policies. From this perspective, Purtle first examines the “inability to alter inequitable public policies that differentially allocate resources for health” (Purtle 632).…

    • 1608 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They should retain their right to vote to show how they improved by working to get it back. Although the convicted felon might be affected by who is elected, I believe that while felons are serving their term they should lose the right to vote, but retain it after their term within time because convicted felons don’t get updates on campaigns, also if someone needs to serve time in prison, be put on parole or probation, they have already broke the law and they should lose their right to vote for the meantime, and lastly, also a convicted felon should lose the right to vote while serving their time because, in most states, they can still retain it. If you think that your certain state should change their law to revoke the right to vote while a convicted felon serves their term or to ensure that someone can retain their right to vote after completing their term, you can contact your state…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Felons have violated the established “Social Contract Theory” demonstrating that a felon’s judgment is faulty, as well as the susceptibility of felons to recidivism. In addition, felon disenfranchisement laws are not a predominant factor in the social reintegration of a felon. Moreover, according to the 14th amendment: states have the authority to deny one's right to vote due to criminal behavior. Lastly, felon disenfranchisement laws are not inherently racist nor encompass any racially targeted laws. If a person rebels feloniously against any aspect of society, warranted by moral, social, and legal means, that person’s right to vote must be revoked.…

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    There are so many different outcomes to the issue with different states having different law on felons being able to vote as shown above. Felons should be allowed to vote for one it is constitutional right they have done their time to society and by law should have the right to vote restored to them. It will be a great first step back in society and great pride to them personally Leah Taylor was convicted of a non-violent crime her rights to vote were restored but are now at great risk of being taken away again (Stolberg). Ex-Felons like Leah should be able rights to vote after she’s done her time to society, is it really fair to have them taken away? After all these years of trying to register to vote and being denied various times and for it to finally be granted only to be taken…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In order to do the most good for the most people, equal rights must be afforded to every one. The most unacceptable form of injustice is disenfranchisement, and my specific area of interest is felon disenfranchisement. I think it’s of the utmost importance that we address this, and address it soon. Each state has varying laws regarding the legality of felon voting; from states that allow felons to vote while incarcerated, on parole, and probation to states that permanently take away a citizen’s right to vote, depending on the severity of the crime. Currently, two states allow felons to vote while in jail or serving a part of their sentence, parole, probation, etc.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Did you know the United States is home to five percent of the world’s population, with twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners and ninety percent of those prisoners being non-violent offenders? According to Us News & World Report the prison population has grown by eight hundred percent since the 1980’s while the country’s population only increased by a third. With this cancerous growth of the incarceration rate in America, the question is how far will this problem go, and how much will the American citizen have to pay before they realize the current justice system is obsolete. With an outdated system of justice and a spiraling incarceration rate, the question on most people’s mind is should the justice system be reformed? The main question on a lot of people’s mind is how the justice system get so jacked up.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Voting Rights In Kentucky

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Weeks before he leaves office, the governor of Kentucky on Tuesday issued an executive order that will immediately grant the right to vote to about 140,000 nonviolent felons who have completed their sentences. The order by Gov. Steven L. Beshear, a Democrat, was cheered by advocates for criminal justice reform and civil rights, who said it would place Kentucky’s policy more in line with others across the nation and was consistent with a trend toward easing voting restrictions on former inmates. Kentucky had been one of just three states imposing a lifetime voting ban on felons unless they received a special exemption from the governor. Florida and Iowa still carry the lifetime ban. “Once an individual has served his or her time and paid…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pyrrhic Defeat Theory

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Reiman and Leighton’s book, The Rich Get Richer And the Poor Get Prison explores a theory that the American criminal justice system is set up in such a way that it is very detrimental to the lower class. The typical reaction to a theory like this is to assume that it is a conspiracy, but Reiman and Leighton make sure to include a section on why this is real, and not a tinfoil hat conspiracy. Their reasoning is that while the criminal justice system is failing to significantly cut down crime, the results of that failure are positive to the upper class, who are the only people that could fix the failure (Reiman and Leighton 5-7).…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Racism And Violence

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Racism and Violence in the United States The United States has always been a country that is culturally diverse. Regardless of the diversity the U.S has discriminated groups of people that are not recognized as “White”. Since the establishment of the U.S. there has been discrimination of minorities.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    In addition, felons are not allowed to vote in many states ("What Are the Requirements to Be Eligible to Vote in Federal Elections?"). This is completely unfair towards them. Certain felons should still maintain the right to vote. Criminals who are, say, terrorists, should not be allowed to vote. However, if the charge against someone is not serious, they should not have their rights stolen away from…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Persuasive Essay On Felons

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Individuals convicted of a felony are not eligible to vote while incarcerated, on parole, or on probation. Voting rights are restored a couple years after the completion of all supervised release. Felons who have served their sentence and have followed protocol should have the right to vote in less than two years. Voting is vital aspect of our lives. Being confined for so many years, deprived of freedom and a few rights taken away, an individual would love to vote in a major election like this year.…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Felons should have the same rights to vote as a normal citizen of the United States. Prisoners should be able to speak and and make themselves matter for once. They need to take action and look for a better as well. A citizen felon should have the rights as a citizen. Prisoners should be allowed to vote and make a decision.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays